Volume 14, Issue 1 (January 1986)

Evaluation of the Effect of Contact-Time When Measuring Floor Slip Resistance

To test the slip resistance of shoe and floor materials, the Horizontal pull Slipmeter (HPS) is normally placed on a smooth floor surface and then connected to a capstan which applies force to overcome friction. This normal procedure was compared with a laboratory modification of the normal HPS operation: the meter was placed on the floor at the same time the capstan began applying the lateral force. Results from 1360 measurements involving 17 shoe-sole materials and two floor materials, wet and dry, were as follows: (1) differences in time of contact between shoe sole and floor materials affected the slip resistance for some materials, and (2) dry leather materials were most consistently and substantially affected, whereas other affected materials showed relatively small differences. Previous researchers have shown dry leather to be generally less slip resistant than other shoe-sole materials. Results from this evaluation study may be used in support of these previous findings.